


runaway

by foxhat



Series: Berujean Week 2016 [2]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe, BeruJean Week 2016, M/M, i really have no idea what to tag this
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-18
Updated: 2016-03-18
Packaged: 2018-05-27 13:11:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,963
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6286048
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/foxhat/pseuds/foxhat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jean's mom doesn't allow him to watch his favourite tv-show because he needs to go to bed. He does the rational thing and decides to run away from home.</p>
            </blockquote>





	runaway

**Author's Note:**

> this was kinda rushed because i'm super behind on berujean week and i might edit it later, but for now: enjoy

Jean met Bertholdt for the first time when he was seven years old. He was stomping through the woods behind his house, angry that his mom didn’t let him watch the last episode of Skippy because “it was time for bed”. He had run to his room crying, only stopping to grab a warm sweater before he sneaked out of his bedroom window. He thought that running away from home would a) scare his mom into letting him watch Skippy, and b) show her how he was mature enough to take care of himself. At the time it seemed like his best option, but whenever Jean looks back at it now he realises how stupid and childish it was. The sweater was far from enough to protect him from the cold autumn wind, and he was shivering in his clothes when he ran into Bertholdt. Literally.

One moment he was moving, the next he slammed into a tall body, falling on his butt as a result.

Jean still remembers his first reaction had been fear as he looked up at the tall boy looming over him, the moonlight creating eerie shadows across his face. That fear, however, disappeared as soon as the boy opened his mouth.

‘O-oh, God, I’m so sorry. I didn’t see you, did I hurt you? Can you stand? Oh, God, my mom is going to kill me,’ he rambled, and the sudden shift in atmosphere left Jean shocked enough that he started giggling.  
‘Why are you– what’s wrong?!’ The tall boy asked, his hands flying to his hair to check for twigs or leaves, as if that would explain why Jean had suddenly bursted out laughing.

When Jean collected enough breath to speak, he said: ‘You’re not scary at all.’

‘Oh,’ the boy said, his hands falling back down. ‘No, I guess I’m not.’ He seemed to be confused as to why Jean would even think he was scary in the first place.

When Jean scrambled to get back up, the boy held out a hand to him, and he accepted. After he dusted himself off, he squinted back up at the boy.

‘Who are you and why are you in the woods so late?’ He asked bluntly, trying to look tough.

The moonlight was just enough for him to see the boy was blushing. Jean thought that was pretty funny – such a tall boy blushing because of someone like Jean – so his demeanor dropped and he giggled again.

‘I– I’m Bertholdt. I live here,’ the tall boy said, stumbling over his words. As if on second thought, he folded his arms in front of his chest and tried to copy Jean’s serious attitude from before.  
‘What are _you_ doing here?’

Jean stopped giggling and frowned at Bertholdt.

‘That’s silly, people don’t live in the woods. And Bertholdt is a weird name.’

Bertholdt hunched up his shoulders in reply and shifted his gaze to the ground.

‘Well, I can’t help it, my mom picked out my name. A-and I bet your name is weird too,’ he added in a sudden burst of confidence.

Jean huffed and did his best to look confident as well.

‘My name is Jean, and it’s French,’ he said. To his surprise, Bertholdt started giggling.

‘That _is_ a silly name,’ he said, and Jean could feel himself blushing bright red in response.

‘It’s not!’ He protested loudly. ‘Not as silly as Bertholdt, anyway,’ he muttered, feeling a little hurt.

Bertholdt shifted his feet across the ground and let out a soft sigh.

‘I’m sorry, that was a little mean,’ he mumbled. ‘I don’t think Jean’s that silly. It’s kinda pretty,’ he admitted.

Jean looked up at that, eyes glittering. ‘You think?’ He asked, and Bertholdt shrugged in admission. ‘I guess Bertholdt is kinda nice too. It’s better than being called Dick.’ 

Bertholdt let out a surprised laugh at that. ‘Are there really people called Dick?’ He asked, obviously not believing a word Jean said.

‘Hm, yeah, my neighbor is one of them,’ Jean said, feeling pretty smart about knowing something the other boy didn’t, puffing up his chest. ‘Well, I think his real name is Richard, I’m not sure why everyone calls him Dick,’ he admitted, not wanting to lie.

Bertholdt laughed again, and Jean thought he looked good like that, better than when he had been constantly stumbling over words.

After a bit they both fell silent again, and jean scuffed the toes of his sneakers against the dry leaves.

‘So what _are_ you doing here, Jean?’ Bertholdt suddenly asked. Jean flushed red again, feeling silly all of a sudden.

‘I ran away,’ he mumbled, not looking at Bertholdt but keeping his eyes fixed on the ground instead.

‘What?’ Bertholdt asked, shocked. ‘Why?’

‘I was angry,’ Jean muttered. ‘My mom wouldn’t let me watch Skippy.’

‘Who’s Skippy?’ Bertholdt asked, sounding confused, and Jean’s mouth dropped open. ‘Are they your friend?’

‘You don’t know Skippy?!’ Jean exclaimed in utter shock.

‘No?’

‘It’s a tv-show!’ Jean started telling enthusiastically. ‘It’s about this kangaroo called Skippy, and she always helps out when people are in trouble, and it’s really cool!’

Bertholdt’s shoulders slumped a little, and he almost looked sad. ‘I don’t have a television,’ he admitted, and now Jean was really shocked.

‘What? Then what do you do in your free time?’ He asked, confused.

Bertholdt shrugged at that. ‘I don’t know,’ he said. ‘I just walk around the woods until mom says I should sleep.’

‘That sounds boring,’ Jean said, wrinkling his nose.

‘Oh no, I like it here!’ Bertholdt objected. ‘There are a lot of different trees and animals, and sometimes if I climb high enough I can watch the birds!’ 

His hands moved as he talked, shaping his words. Jean looked Bertholdt up and down, watching the way he talked. He didn’t seem to be lying.

‘So you really live here? With your mom?’ He asked. ‘I’ve never seen a house in these woods,’ he added skeptically.

Bertholdt shrugged again, fidgeting with the sleeves of his shirt. Jean only now noticed how worn-out his clothes looked, and how everything seemed just a little too small.

‘That’s because we don’t live in a house,’ Bertholdt muttered, suddenly looking a little uncomfortable.

‘But all humans live in houses!’ Jean said in surprise. ‘Wait, are you homeless?’ He added as soon as the thought entered his mind.

‘No! I mean, well, technically I guess we are,’ Bertholdt muttered. ‘But my mom’s not.. Really human,’ he added carefully.

Jean’s eyes widened. It was the middle of the night, Bertholdt was walking around in the woods, he didn’t live in a house– 

‘Are you… _a vampire_?’ He asked, whispering the last part. This was so cool! He had met a vampire! And one that was his age as well! Though, wait, did this mean Bertholdt was actually really old? Because that would be a little weird– 

‘What? No,’ Bertholdt answered, relaxing a little. ‘I don’t even think those exist.’

Oh.

Jean slumped his shoulders and frowned. ‘But you said your mom’s not human.’

‘Well, yeah,’ Bertholdt said, and started fidgeting with his clothes again. ‘She’s a dryad.’

Jean frowned even deeper. That was not at all what he had expected.

‘What’s that?’ He asked.

‘She’s like, uh, a tree spirit,’ Bertholdt tried to explain.

‘That sounds weird,’ Jean said, and Bertholdt visibly bristled at that.

‘It’s not! My mom is very cool,’ he protested.

‘So are you a tree spirit as well?’ Jean asked, not wanting to discuss if it was weird or not. He didn’t think anything would come of a discussion like that, anyway. _Everyone_ thought their mom was cool.

‘Not really,’ Bertholdt said, and almost sounded disappointed.‘I think my dad was human, but mom doesn’t really talk about it,’ he admitted. ‘Besides, my mom always says that male dryads don’t exist.’

‘That’s kinda weird,’ Jean said, and Bertholdt shrugged– he seemed to do that a lot.

‘Shouldn’t you go back home?’ Bertholdt suddenly asked, and Jean huffed. ‘Your mom’s probably getting really worried,’ he added, and Jean had to admit that now most of his anger was gone, he didn’t really like the idea of his mom being so worried. 

There was one problem, though.

‘I’m... not sure if I know how to get back,’ Jean admitted with red cheeks. ‘The forest looks different in the dark,’ he added to defend himself. 

Bertholdt’s face broke into a wide smile, and he hopped a little on his feet. ‘I can guide you!’ He said, enthusiastically. ‘I know the forest really well, do you think you can find your home if I bring you to the edge of the woods?’ He asked.

Jean nodded hesitantly. ‘I think so,’ he said, and startled when Bertholdt grabbed his hand.

‘Come on, I’ll show you!’ He said, still smiling wide. Not knowing what other option he might have, Jean let himself be dragged along, listening to Bertholdt talk about the woods and its inhabitants.

***

That was the first time they met, and there have been many more meetings after that. Turns out that, despite their differences, Jean shares a lot of interests with Bertl. 

He’s seventeen now, and walking through the woods a lot more confidently than when he was seven– he’s been here so often, he knows it like it’s his back garden. He’s carrying a sports bag under his arm and a picnic blanket is slung over his shoulder.

‘Bertl!’ He yells, and almost trips over his feet in surprise when Bertl appears right in front of him, dropping down from a tree branch.

‘Hi, Jean,’ he says, almost sounding shy. Bertl’s always like that the first few seconds, but by now Jean knows exactly how to help him get rid of his nerves. He grabs Bertl’s arm and pulls him closer for a quick peck on the lips.

‘Hi,’ he says, pretending very hard that he’s not, in fact, blushing. Sometimes it still feels new, even though they’ve gone from friends to boyfriends over two years ago. 

Bertl smiles at him, and when he spots the bag under Jean’s arm his eyes lit up. ‘You’re staying tonight?’ He asks, and Jean grins in childish joy.

‘I checked the weather, it’s going to be a warm night! Plus, finals are finally over so I don’t have to study tomorrow,’ he tells excitedly. It’s been awhile since the weather has been good enough for Jean to stay the night, his body not as  
able to handle the cold and rain like Bertl’s is, so he’s looking forward to it.

‘That’s great,’ Bertholdt says, and he leans forward for another quick kiss. Jean can’t help but grin afterwards. Whenever he says it out loud Bertholdt begs him to stop, but Jean still can’t believe that Bertl feels the same way as Jean feels about him. He thinks Bertl is beautiful, with his eyes the same green as the leaves above them, and a smile that always manages to light up something deep inside Jean’s chest. 

They entwine fingers and start walking without having to say anything. They’ve done this so often now that it’s become routine. They meet up every day, and Bertl always make sure to find the best spot for them to sit and talk each time.

When Bertl starts talking about a nest of birds that hatched this morning, Jean watches him and thinks back to that first meeting. His mom had been worried sick by the time he came home, and he had been grounded for a week (he wasn’t allowed to watch Skippy either), but considering what has come of it, Jean finds it hard to feel any regret about his silly decision back then. Yeah, he’s pretty happy with how things turned out.

**Author's Note:**

> if you read this and think "well this isn't realistic at all what kind of kid would run away from home because they're not allowed to watch Skippy" the answer is: the kind of kid that's me (i really liked the show okay). only i didn't stumble across a boy living in the woods but instead i stumbled across a spider and went back home after 15 minutes... it wasn't even a very big spider.


End file.
